Getting a credit card

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Credit vs. Debit cards CharacteristicsCredit CardDebit Card What is it?Pre-approved creditA card (looks similar to a credit card) that is linked to an individual’s bank account Payment processCharged to an individual’s account and they may pay later Money is immediately deducted from the bank Is interest charged? Yes – because money is being borrowed from the credit card company No

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Schumer box The Federal Truth in Lending Act requires card issuers to display the costs of a credit card in an easy to read box format on most applications and solicitations –Called the Schumer Box Annual Percentage Rate for Purchases Grace Period for Purchases Minimum Finance Charges Balance Calculation Method for Purchases Annual FeesTransaction Fees for Cash Advances Late Payment Fees 19.9% Not less than 25 days $.50 when a finance charge at a periodic rate is charged Average daily balance method (including new purchases) $20 per year 2% with a minimum fee of $3 $29

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Annual percentage rate Annual Percentage Rate for Purchases Grace Period for Purchases Minimum Finance Charges Balance Calculation Method for Purchases Annual FeesTransaction Fees for Cash Advances Late Payment Fees 19.9% Not less than 25 days $.50 when a finance charge at a periodic rate is charged Average daily balance method (including new purchases) $20 per year 2% with a minimum fee of $3 $29 Annual percentage rate (APR) – Interest rate charged for amount borrowed in terms of per dollar per year The lower the interest rate, the better

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Grace period Annual Percentage Rate for Purchases Grace Period for Purchases Minimum Finance Charges Balance Calculation Method for Purchases Annual FeesTransaction Fees for Cash Advances Late Payment Fees 19.9% Not less than 25 days $.50 when a finance charge at a periodic rate is charged Average daily balance method (including new purchases) $20 per year 2% with a minimum fee of $3 $29 Grace Period – Amount of time allowed before finance charges are applied

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Minimum finance charge Annual Percentage Rate for Purchases Grace Period for Purchases Minimum Finance Charges Balance Calculation Method for Purchases Annual FeesTransaction Fees for Cash Advances Late Payment Fees 19.9% Not less than 25 days $.50 when a finance charge at a periodic rate is charged Average daily balance method (including new purchases) $20 per year 2% with a minimum fee of $3 $29 Minimum finance charge – Minimum amount charged for card use

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Balance calculation method Annual Percentage Rate for Purchases Grace Period for Purchases Minimum Finance Charges Balance Calculation Method for Purchases Annual FeesTransaction Fees for Cash Advances Late Payment Fees 19.9% Not less than 25 days $.50 when a finance charge at a periodic rate is charged Average daily balance method (including new purchases) $20 per year 2% with a minimum fee of $3 $29 Balance calculation method for purchases- Method used to determine balance for finance charges

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Annual fees Annual Percentage Rate for Purchases Grace Period for Purchases Minimum Finance Charges Balance Calculation Method for Purchases Annual FeesTransaction Fees for Cash Advances Late Payment Fees 19.9% Not less than 25 days $.50 when a finance charge at a periodic rate is charged Average daily balance method (including new purchases) $20 per year 2% with a minimum fee of $3 $29 Annual fees- Yearly charge for credit card ownership

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Cash advances Annual Percentage Rate for Purchases Grace Period for Purchases Minimum Finance Charges Balance Calculation Method for Purchases Annual FeesTransaction Fees for Cash Advances Late Payment Fees 19.9% Not less than 25 days $.50 when a finance charge at a periodic rate is charged Average daily balance method (including new purchases) $20 per year 2% with a minimum fee of $3 $29 Transaction fees for cash advances – cash withdrawal fees

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Late payment fees Annual Percentage Rate for Purchases Grace Period for Purchases Minimum Finance Charges Balance Calculation Method for Purchases Annual FeesTransaction Fees for Cash Advances Late Payment Fees 19.9% Not less than 25 days $.50 when a finance charge at a periodic rate is charged Average daily balance method (including new purchases) $20 per year 2% with a minimum fee of $3 $29 Late payment fees – Penalty fee for payments not made by the due date

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Receiving a credit card Credit Application A form requesting information about a person’s ability to repay debt Completed by the consumer This step may be skipped if the consumer has been “pre-approved” by the credit card company Credit Investigation A comparison of information on a credit card application to their credit report Conducted by the credit card company Award or denial of credit Consumer receives the credit card and can activate and begin using it Consumer does not receive a credit card. They can request information about why they were denied credit.

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Charges, payments, and credits Understanding the bill Charges, payments, and credits – The transactions which occur with the use of a credit card –Important to keep receipts to compare them to the bill for accuracy Closing date – Last day for transactions to be reported on the statement Closing date

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Finance charges Understanding the bill Finance charge – Charges assessed for credit card use Minimum payment due – The minimum amount to be paid –If this amount is paid and a balance is left on the account, additional finance charges will be included in the following month’s balance Minimum payment due

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Understanding the bill Due date – The day by which the company requires a payment to be made Past due amount – The required amount not paid before the due date Due date

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Understanding the bill New balance – The total amount owed on a credit card Credit Line – The maximum amount of charges allowed to an account New balance Credit line

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Understanding the bill Over the limit fee – credit card companies will charge consumers a fee if they charge over their limit within one month Over the limit fee

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Understanding the bill Balance transfer – Transfer the balance from one card to another –Companies will advertise a lower interest rate for balance transfers –These are often introductory rates and will only last for a short time

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Safety tips Sign card with a signature and “Please See ID” Do not leave cards lying around Close unused accounts in writing and by phone, then cut up the card Do not give out account numbers unless making purchases Keep a list of all cards, account numbers, and phone lists separate from cards Report lost or stolen cards promptly

© Family Economics & Financial Education –Updated April 2009– Credit Unit – Understanding a Credit Card Funded by a grant from Take Charge America, Inc. to the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Take Charge America Institute at The University of Arizona Fair Credit Billing Act Helps to protect consumers while using a credit card to make purchases It allows the consumer to not pay for a product or service for which the consumer has a complaint Billing disputes are covered within the Fair Credit Billing Act for credit cards If products are not delivered or if it is not what they consumer requested, any amount of money that was credited to the card above the $50.00 fee that consumers are responsible for will be issued back Debit cards do not have the same protection –Making credit cards a safer form of payment for online purchases

Any Questions?